bchase you should switch to the 7100I. Its more phone than PDA. I use DC a lot and do short response emails. My switch to the 7100I has been great. You will need to get used to Sure Type, but it only took me a day or so.

I used to have a cell phone but once I got my 7290, I decided there was no need for a separate cell. I got my 7290 through my company (for purposes of business email) and added the voice capability on my own, and pay for that portion of the bill each month. My firm pays for the data portion of the bill.

I use the device for 1) personal calendar appointments 2) personal phone use 3) looking out for the occasional Urgent business email that cannot wait until I get into the office the next day 4) keeping in touch with family by email when vacationing abroad (versus buying a phone card for a payphone, or else having to figure out if my BB phone will work abroad) and 5) if I'm running late to meet a friend and I'm stuck on the subway, I will compose my update email to them on the train and hit "send", and then as soon as I hit the street level the message is immediately sent.

I use my BB for work and DC for work. I use the address book and calendar for business and personal use. Little does my boss know, I installed Ramble...
I also have a old school "Nokia" phone that I use personally alot for personal call sometimes. It's funny when I use my Nokia...I get the "why doesn't this idiot upgrade" look. Then when I "whip out" my BB...all the chicks gather 'round!!! I blow all the other people out of the water that have RAZR's.
I'm getting a little tired of carrying both devices tho...something to consider...I still think that Nextel BB's have the best of everything...(BB, DC and phone) all in one package. My opinion, stick with ur 7100i...it's attractive to the non-BB users. But if u want a new phone, check out the new Samsung phone from Sprint. (RAZR look-a-like)

I primarily use mine for personal reasons. Keep in touch with my five kids and I have a small business. About 80% personal and 20% for my business. My clients are amazed at my fast email responses, I always get asked how I can do that when I am not at my office. So I show them my BB, leads to a lot of questions and showing off.

I have a 8700 and a Black Razr. The 8700 is for work (both data and phone) and the Black Razr is my personal cell. I do not like having one number for both use and the fact that if you leave the company, you may not take the number with you (even if it was yours to begin with).

The only issue I have with both is using 2 bluetooth headsets when I'm in the car. Yes I know I can forward one number to another but how often do you remember to do that? I only do it on long drives honestly and not the quick ride to the store.

I'm leaning towards getting a i870 I use the phone and DC alot. Just not happy with the phon DC side of the Blackberry. It's a Blackberry first and phone second.

I've got a 7290 that I use for work and for e-mail and then a Razr for personal phone use.

I agree with the poster earlier who said the Razr is a good bet as a second device because its a small phone. It just sits in my shirt pocket and doesn't get in the way like a "bat belt" would.

Also bchase why go with the same type of phone (nextel)? Unless you are way out in the sticks get yourself a nice GSM phone (Cingular or T-Mobile). A side note on the Razr is the reception and call quality is excellent. My call quality is better than on a land line with the Razr and Cingular.

I travel overseas extensively so have to carry a razor and not use the BB for voice. With Cingular, if you log in just once overseas, every call to that number regardless of whether you answer and it rolls to your voice mail you're clipped with an international charge. I learned the hard way. I turned it on in Thailand for a day, went to Japan for a week, of course no service, but was charged for intl voice calls to my number even though the device was off. Never had that problem with T-mo.

I travel overseas extensively so have to carry a razor and not use the BB for voice. With Cingular, if you log in just once overseas, every call to that number regardless of whether you answer and it rolls to your voice mail you're clipped with an international charge. I learned the hard way. I turned it on in Thailand for a day, went to Japan for a week, of course no service, but was charged for intl voice calls to my number even though the device was off. Never had that problem with T-mo.

Holy cow! Cingular sure has this thing wired. I've always thought that if I traveled, I would just get a pay as you go service in that local country. This was suggested to me by a friend and it made sense.

I just introduced myself to the world of BB and am blown away at the few features I have discoverd so far. Carrying the 8700c

I am getting ready to move to Jamaica and continue to work for my company here in the states and the BB will be awesome for this.

Right now I am using the e-mail, browser, mobile desktop, and IM+....All these features allow me leave my office and if I get a call I can usually do simple tasks like running backups on the servers, execute database utilities, etc. If it's too much for the BB I just run back to the office and take care of it with the desktop.

I guess the next thing I need to figure out is synching my Outlook addy with the BB. I am using a separate phone (nokia 6230i) and the BB for data only...

Just got my 8700c about 3 weeks ago. Use it for business and personal and I am loving it more every day. I use it for email, appointments ,great for reminders and even aim. Is it possible to fax from my 8700?

8700c is the primary voice, email, calendar, contacts, etc. I carry a Verizon Motorola E815 as a backup in areas where Cingular has little or no coverage. Also have a Verizon EV-DO card for the laptop. Saves a ton on hotel Internet charges between appointments and on travel.

Don't know about anyone else but the thought of carrying two devices reminds me of the old pagewriter days... or for that matter the old 8XX/9XX berry days. That would have to be one crappy blackberry or one helluva phone to make me want to carry them both..

For what you pay for BB's and hgh end cell's, they should carry me around... geez!

__________________Why is it drug addicts and computer afficionados are both called users? Clifford StollPIN 4007D1C9

i carry both, 7130e for email/data and w900i for voice (unlimited). If fido (voice) will have a bb data that can still send/receive calls while in data, then I will only carry a bb.
btw i used to carry 4 devices, bb7280, voice w900i, ppc-6600 and iden i730.

I carry my Blackberry (7250) and a PDA (Dell Axim X50v, soon to be a Zaurus C-760) with me around at almost all times - if I feel like travelling light, it's just the 7250. The BB is great for a phone/data services but sucks for multimedia, which is why I carry a PDA around with me as well.

My girlfriend has two lines - a 7100r for work and an Audiovox SMT5600 for personal use. That being said, the 5600 sits at home in a drawer and she just uses the 7100r for everything - the perks of having a demo line, I suppose :D

I lived in Hong kong.I carry my sony ericsson K750i and also bb 8700r, I bring with me 2 phones, becos my bb networking plan sucks like hell....with 1 mb data usage per month, and 700 mins for phone calls. and it cos 40 us dollar...which is nonsense and pricey.....!!! I hated that so much!

Most of us whom are using a BB now once did carry both items. The BB is very functional and gives the user much more power that carrying a single phone and/or a PDA.

1. BB are light weight and very portable.
2. Easy to charge in the car or office with just a USB port and the right cable.
3. Real time email from almost anywhere.
4. Functional prductivity software of all kinds.
5. Bluetooth for hands free conversation, this is great for those whom drive a lot.
5. Huge contact list capability. I know of some users with over 600 contacts
6. Web browsing on BB is better than almost any telephone, as well as email or messaging.
7. Many BB 7520 user enjoy spell check on their devices.
8. BB 7520 has GPS and if you subscribe to TeleNav you can get driving directions to any location in the USA.
9. Attachement viewing.
10. Real security on the device and it ieven has hide features and move icon features.

And the list of pros for using BB as your single communication device goes on......